Bugs in Space! 5 Unusual Astronauts

NASA has a penchant for sending some strange stuff into orbit. But for scientific experiments in microgravity, nothing beats bugs.

NASA has a penchant for sending some strange stuff into orbit. But for scientific experiments in microgravity, nothing beats bugs.

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NASA/Ames

Fruit Flies

The next time you swat at a buzzing pest, consider that its progeny may one day travel to the stars.

A fruit fly is a scientist's best friend. Ever since Charles Woodworth suggested that Harvard University invest in the insect in 1909, experiments on fruit flies have spearheaded advances in genetics, cell biology, and medicine.

As scientific exploration turned skyward, fruit flies were an obvious choice. In 1947 the United States strapped a few hapless flies to a V-2 rocket, launching them into the limelight as the first animals in space. In 2006 NASA sent 15 fruit flies into orbit on the space shuttle Discovery—which returned to Earth two weeks later with more than 3000 flies on board. When scientists discovered that microgravity had taken a serious toll on the flies' immune systems, NASA proposed a Fruit Fly Lab for the International Space Station, due to launch later this year.

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NASA

Silkworms

When not producing silk, these moth larvae occasionally travel into space. The silkworm's destiny is so intertwined with our own that it can no longer exist in the wild without human assistance, so it's only fair that we take the worms along for the ride.

Silkworm eggs and larvae have traveled into orbit on NASA space shuttles and journeyed alongside astronauts for decades. But our relationship with these critters is sure to sour with the news that silkworms may soon shift from trusty sidekicks to tasty space snacks. Chinese scientists recently suggested that silkworms—low in maintenance and high in protein—would make excellent meals for long space voyages. Which sounded pretty awful, until the silkworm space cookie made its debut.

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NASA

A Colony of Ants

Earlier this week NASA announced the arrival of 800 ants on board the International Space Station. Although sci-fi has already posited about a thousand ways this could turn out poorly for humanity, fear not. The experiment is in safe hands—while our trained astronauts are looking after the space ants, a score of earthbound control ants are being continuously monitored by elementary school students.

By studying ant behavior in microgravity, scientists hope to learn more about how the insects interact in unique situations. Scientists suspect that ants navigate by assessing their population density relative to their habitats, so space should be an utterly confusing place for the insect astronauts. But, hey, at least we aren't planning on eating them.

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NASA

Honey Bees

In an experiment clearly designed to terrify everyone on board, NASA sent 3500 honeybees into orbit in 1984. Researchers found that the bees were capable of building honeycombs in microgravity, and that their beehive structure was essentially the same as it would have been on Earth.

In the future honeybees may hold the key to pollinating off-world crops, but—possibly because no one wants to ship thousands of stinging insects into orbit ever again—subsequent honeybee studies have been conducted on Earth, in low-pressure chambers. The results are promising, as honeybees seem generally indifferent to most low-gravity and low-pressure conditions. Which means that space honey √† la Futuramamay be possible after all.

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NASA

Spiders

Let's get this out of the way immediately: Yes, there are spiders in low Earth orbit. No, the spiders are not from Mars.

Scientists wondered whether spiders would be able to weave their elaborate webs in microgravity, which prompted a trip to space in 1973. Although their webs were initially sloppy, the spiders eventually produced a web comparable to those built back home. NASA's fascination with spiders culminated in a mission that sent two orb-weaver spiders to the International Space Station. The "arachnidnauts" fared so well aboard the ISS that NASA actually ordered another mission soon after.

But history will never forget the first brave spiders in space. That distinction belongs to Arabella and Anita, whose bodies remain on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

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